U-High Creek Water Quality

The water quality of the U-High Creek was identified as excellent, but not all bodies of water have excellent water quality. Humans can pollute water in many ways, and make it unsuitable for organisms living in the water. One way humans can pollute water is when farmers put pesticides and fertilizers on their crops, which contain harmful chemicals like phosphates and Nitrates. When it rains, the pesticides get washed away through the soil and end up in rivers, streams, and creeks, therefore polluting that body of water. If large amounts of pesticides and fertilizers end up in these bodies of water, the amount of these harmful chemicals grows substantially. Algae uses these substances to grow rapidly. When the algae grows too fast and builds up, the water will turn green. …show more content…
Also, when the algae decomposes, it takes away the dissolved oxygen which organisms need as well (River Water Quality and Pollution). Another way humans can pollute water is when factories and industries discharge harmful chemicals into the water such as cyanide, zinc, lead, copper, mercury, etc. Many industries and factories use freshwater to carry away waste from the plant and into rivers, lakes, and oceans (Industrial Water and Water Pollution, 2016 http://www.water-pollution.org.uk/industrialwaste.html). When these substances enter these bodies of water in such high amounts, fish and other animals are killed immediately. Sometimes these toxins enter the food chain and build up as you get higher in the food chain. This is called bioaccumulation. The toxins will eventually kill birds, fish and